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NY G83005




October 18, 2000

CLA-2-04:RR:NC:2:231 G83005

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 0406.90.9500; 0406.90.9700

Mr. Stephen De Castro
All-Ways Forwarding International, Inc.
701 Newark Avenue, Suite 300
Elizabeth, NJ 07208

RE: The tariff classification of feta cheese from New Zealand.

Dear Mr. De Castro:

In your letter, dated October 2, 2000, you requested a classification ruling on behalf of your client, Trader Joe’s, Los Angeles, CA.

The submitted sample, “Aakronia” brand “Marinated Feta,” is feta cheese in oil with herbs. The ingredients are feta cheese (made from pasteurized cow’s milk, salt, lactic starter culture, and vegetable rennet), sunflower oil and olive oil (with antioxidant E320), herbs, spices, and preservative (E202). The product will contain 56 percent sunflower oil and olive oil, 43 percent feta cheese, and 1 percent herbs and spices. The net weight is 12 ounces.

During the manufacturing process, fresh, whole cow’s milk is pasteurized at 72 degrees Centigrade for more than 15 seconds. Then it undergoes cooling (to processing temperature) and concentration (by ultrafiltration). Ingredients are added (rennet and starter culture), and it is ripened overnight, cut into blocks, brined, packed, chilled (by storage overnight at 4 degrees Centigrade), and cut into cubes. The cubes are placed in jars, ingredients are added, and the finished product is packed and chilled again (stored overnight at 4 degrees Centigrade).

The applicable subheading for feta cheese, if entered under quota, will be 0406.90.9500, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for cheese and curd, other cheese, other cheeses, and substitutes for cheese, including mixtures of the above, other, including mixtures of the above (excluding goods containing mixtures of subheadings 0406.90.61 or 0406.90.63), other, other, containing cow’s milk (except soft-ripened cow’s milk cheese), described in additional U.S. note 16 to chapter 4 and entered pursuant to its provisions. The rate of duty will be 10 percent ad valorem.

The applicable subheading for feta cheese, if entered outside the quota, will be 0406.90.9700, HTS, which provides for cheese and curd, other cheese, other cheeses, and substitutes for cheese, including mixtures of the above, other, including mixtures of the above (excluding goods containing mixtures of subheadings 0406.90.61 or 0406.90.63), other, other, containing cow’s milk (except soft-ripened cow’s milk), other. The rate of duty will be $1.509 per kilogram. In addition, products classified in subheading 0406.90.9700, HTS, will be subject to additional duties based on their value, as described in subheadings 9904.06.38 – 9904.06.49, HTS.

For goods classified in subheading 0406.90.9500, an import license, issued to the importer by the United States Department of Agriculture, will be required at the time such merchandise is entered for consumption into the United States.

Questions regarding licensing procedures and applications for licenses to import cheese subject to quota should be addressed to:

Import Quota Manager for Dairy Products
STOP 1029/Room 5531-S
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250-1029

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 177).

A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Thomas Brady at 212-637-7064.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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